If you're a lover of chamber music then you can't do any better than this amazing 59 CD set. The overall price is steep but it averages out to be less than $5 per CD. Couple that with the truly legendary performances offered here and you have an incredible bargain that will not be around for long. The Westminster record label (1949-1965) was justly famous for it's "Natural Balance" recorded sound which was primarily the combined effort of producer Dr. Kurt List and engineer Karl Wohlleitner. Centered in Vienna, they had access to some of the finest chamber musicians in the world through the city's various orchestras. They were also able to spot up and coming talent like conductor-pianist Daniel Barenboim and guitarist/lutenist Julian Bream. During the 1950s they were unrivalled in their chamber music output both in quantity and quality. This set, manufactured in Korea, contains several of those performances.

Performances by the Barylli and Vienna Konzerthaus string quartets featuring the music of Mozart, Beethoven & Schubert make up the bulk of the offerings. For a complete listing, just Google "Westminster Legacy: Chamber Music". You not only can find a list of all the pieces but if you click on images, you can see the reproductions of the original album covers. Back in 2002 Deutsche Grammophon acquired the rights to the Westminster back catalogue and released a number of them as single, digitally remastered CDs. They were mostly orchestral works (Westminster is also issuing a 64 disc set devoted to orchestral recordings) but the few chamber works issued were gems. Now many more of them are available for the discerning chamber music lover or the enthusiastic beginner who want the bread and butter of the chamber music repetoire. Many of these performances are a little slower than what you hear today but they get to the heart and soul of the music. So grab this incredible bargain before it's gone, it's absolutely unbelievable!